2 Maccabees 7:18-23: a reflection

18After him they brought the sixth. When he was about to die, he said, “Don’t be vainly deceived, for we suffer these things for our own doings, as sinning against our own God. Astounding things have come to pass; 19but don’t think that you will be unpunished, having tried to fight against God!” 20But above all, the mother was marvelous and worthy of honorable memory; for when she watched seven sons perishing within the space of one day, she bore the sight with a good courage because of her hope in the Lord. 21She exhorted each one of them in the language of their fathers, filled with a noble spirit and stirring up her woman’s thoughts with manly courage, saying to them, 22“I don’t know how you came into my womb. It wasn’t I who gave you your spirit and your life. It wasn’t I who brought into order the first elements of each one of you. 23Therefore the Creator of the world, who shaped the first origin of man and devised the first origin of all things, in mercy gives back to you again both your spirit and your life, as you now treat yourselves with contempt for his laws’ sake.”

As a mother watches her seven sons die rather than forsake God, she encourages them with a confidence rooted in who God is. I did not give you your spirit and your life, she says; it was not I who brought into order the elements of each of you. Therefore the Creator of the world, who shaped the first origin of man, in mercy gives back to you again both your spirit and your life. Because God is the Creator who gave them life, she is sure he can give it back; her hope in the face of death rests on the God who made them and can remake them.

Notice the ground of the mother's hope: the Creator who gave life can restore it. She reasons that since it was God, not she, who gave her sons their life and spirit, God the Creator can give it back to them, even beyond death. Her hope was not wishful; it rested on who God is, the Creator who shaped them at the first and can shape them again. If God made them from nothing, he can surely restore them; the God who gave life can give it back. Her confidence in the face of death was grounded in God the Creator.

That hope is worth taking to heart, for our hope in the face of death rests on the same God, the Creator who can restore life. We face death, our own and that of those we love, and can be tempted to despair, as though death were the end; but the God who gave us life is the Creator, who can give it back, raising the dead. Our hope in the face of death rests not on wishful thinking, but on who God is, the Creator who made us and can remake us. When you face death, do not despair as though it were the end; the Creator who gave you life can restore it, raising the dead. Ground your hope in the face of death on God the Creator, who gave life and can give it back, as the mother was sure the Creator who shaped her sons would restore their life and spirit; for the God who made us from nothing can surely raise us, and our hope in death rests on him.

Lord, as a mother watches her seven sons die rather than forsake you, she encourages them with a confidence rooted in who you are. I did not give you your spirit and your life, she says; therefore the Creator of the world, who shaped the first origin of man, in mercy gives back to you again both your spirit and your life. Because you are the Creator who gave them life, she is sure you can give it back; her hope in the face of death rests on the God who made them and can remake them. Show me the ground of the mother's hope: the Creator who gave life can restore it. She reasons that since it was you, not she, who gave her sons their life, you the Creator can give it back, even beyond death. Her hope was not wishful; it rested on who you are, the Creator who shaped them and can shape them again. If you made them from nothing, you can surely restore them. Take that hope to my heart, for my hope in the face of death rests on the same God, the Creator who can restore life. I face death, my own and that of those I love, and can be tempted to despair, as though death were the end; but you who gave me life are the Creator, who can give it back, raising the dead. My hope rests not on wishful thinking, but on who you are. When I face death, keep me from despairing as though it were the end; you, the Creator who gave me life, can restore it, Lord. Help me ground my hope in the face of death on you, the Creator, who gave life and can give it back.